Piazza della Minerva

The smallest of the Egyptian obelisks in Rome, the Minerveo depicts an elephant carrying it. It was discovered in 1665 during excavations at the nearby church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The obelisk was originally erected by Pharaoh Apries of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt around 580 BC. The scultpure is by famed artist Bernini and includes a Latin inscription at its base, "Let any beholder of the carved images of the wisdom of Egypt on the obelisk carried by the elephant, the strongest of beasts, realize that it takes a robust mind to carry solid wisdom." The sculpture and obelisk are open and well lit at night, easily visible when you're walking near the Pantheon. It is magnificent and worth a visit. [Review 19198 overall - 352 in Italy - 168 of 2023.]

Visit this tiny piazza to see the charming Bernini elephant with a miniature column (from the Temple of Isis) on its back. A Dominican monk who lost the contract to Bernini persuaded the pope to make Bernini stabilize the statue by putting a block under the elephant's belly. That angered Bernini, so he placed the elephant's butt to face the monk's monastery.